Can someone advise me on my web site?

[carlos123]

Hi everyone,

Just joined the forum here. I'd like to know if anyone can give me advice on a web site in progress where I will be offering my web development services primarily to local businesses in San Diego.

Now I know this may come across like an underhanded way of getting you all to look at my site and possibly use my services but the truth is that I don't use PayPal (I can't stand them), do not have a merchant account and can't afford one just now, and am just not set up to otherwise receive money from people who do not live in the San Diego area (who can deposit directly into my bank account or where I can pick up a check from them in person). So you can lay that idea completely to rest.

I honestly just want valuable input from internet marketers on the overall look and presentation at my site.

A couple of things that I am particularly interested in getting input on.

Is the overall look and feel too gaudy for a business web site? Overall do the colors and elements blend to together to make it a pleasant experience to read my site?

Are my pages too wordy? I have broken away from the mold of many sites in not being too succint (i.e. short on words). I write well and have used that to write what needs to be said. But I guess I am wondering if perhaps I have overdone it. I may be able to shorten things up some but not by much if I am to get across what I feel it neccessary to get across to propspective clients.

Also on the page about Introductory Specials, at the very bottom, I state that as a committed Christian I cannot in good conscience work on certain web sites. How does that sentence come across in the context of the rest of the page. I think it's important to let prospective clients know this but perhaps I could have placed this sentence somewhere else or reworded it differently.

Any other input, assuming anyone is actually going to go look at my site would be most appreciated.

The site is at www.carlosgonzalezconsulting.com

Incidentally my eventual goal is to do what Lynn is doing over the Internet (though I may not focus exactly on the passive streams of income she has set up for herself) so my goal is in line with what this forum is all about. But I have to generate some faster and more immediate income on my way toward that goal and that is what I am doing and want to do more of with my web development business.

Thanks.

Carlos

PS. Oh...I neglected to mention that the site is in development (won't be completed for a couple of more days) so the multi-colored outlines you see on it, the lack of perfectly colored reflection at the bottom below the footer, and other similar quirks and unfinished business at my site are there because...well...it's unfinished .

[Getagrip]

Right now things aren't lining up correctly in Internet Explorer - I don't have Firefox, but perhaps someone else can check the website in Firefox.

[carlos123]

Thanks so much for the input Getagrip!

I had not yet checked what I have so far in Microsoft Internet Explorer. What version are you using?

So far I have only concentrated on getting it to look right in Opera, Firefox, and Chromium (the underlying project for Google's Chrome Browser). I run strictly Linux on my own computer where I develop things so I can't check directly in Internet Explorer (well...not without the hassle of rebooting into Window that is ).

But there is a site that will actually return to me screen shots of my site running on various browsers on various other operating systems. I had intended to check there soon.

I will especially do so now that you alerted me to this.

Thanks again.

Carlos

[Getagrip]

I'm using Internet Explorer, version 7.0

[carlos123]

Thanks!

I will add that to my list of things to do later today if not tomorrow. I want to get it looking just right in standards compliant browsers like Opera and Firefox first before I start messing with Internet Explorer quirks and trying to get around their sometimes non-standard rendering of web pages.

That's better than trying to develop for Internet Explorer first and then breaking the standards of proper web page rendering being followed by other browsers to cater to Internet Explorer's sometimes quirkiness.

Carlos

[carlos123]

Hi Karen!

Thanks very much for your added valuable input. I am so glad I came on this forum and asked for input.

Yeah..I do write a lot. Sort of oozes out me everywhere I go LOL. One word after another. It just flows out of me in an unrestrained free flowing cascade of creative expression. See I am at it again! LOL.

Of course I am never quite satisfied with what I write until like a cow I have had a chance to chew on it some (I seem to have cows on my mind just now...hmm...come to think of it I am getting hungry. Time to go get something to eat...all this thinking and all ).

I will definitely be making some changes in line with what everyone on this thread has suggested. Later tonight or tomorrow.

By the way I am not sure what I could put on the right hand side of the page. Maybe just having an empty sidebar on the right might make the site look a bit more balanced. I will have to try that.

Thanks again Karen.

Carlos

[HireMyMum]

Hi Carlos

I am not sure what your aversion to PayPal is, but I can't recommend them highly enough.

You should give them another go.

cheers
Leigh

[carlos123]

Hi HireMyMum,

I will consider what you have said. Thanks!

I could write a small booklet on my aversion to using PayPal. Suffice it to say that you will get an earful if you simple do a Google search on "PayPal sucks" or some such. Pardon my French but it's the best search phrase to pull up what is wrong with PayPal that I know.

My own aversion to PayPal started when they suspended my account for no other reason than they said that my name had shown up in some U.S. government list. No matter what I said to them they simply would not tell me what that list was. But they wanted all kinds of personal information from me to prove who I was. Copies of my passport, bank statements, and other things that were utterly ridiculous to give them simply because I had shown up on some supposed list that they said I had been on.

So I told them to get lost in so many words (I was not very polite back then).

Years later I found out that I was on a terrorist watch list when I tried to fly to the States from Canada. Apparently my name, Carlos Gonzalez, is a favorite of terrorists. Like John Smith. Or Tom Smith. Or any number of other generic names. Carlos Gonzalez is the John Smith of the Spanish speaking world.

I don't fly much these days but I imagine that I will be likewise stopped every time until they see my full name (which is comprised of four names) on my U.S. passport.

At the time with PayPal though I did not know any of this and they were as tight lipped as Fort Knox about their gold.

A couple of other things....

They are not a bank. And they do not have to abide by bank laws respecting your money. If they decide for whatever reason to suspend your account and keep you out of your money, even if caused by a glitch in their accounting systems...too bad. They are King. And there is no other as far as they are concerned.

All you can do is plead nicely and even perhaps beg if you are inclined to do that kind of thing. Just maybe they might stoop down to show you some pity. But more likely they will ignore you and just do whatever they are going to do. Releasing your funds only when they feel like it and not before while making interest on your money all along.

Not the kind of company I want to be dealing with. Ebay...who bought PayPal is just as bad. Almost completely unresponsive to customer input. They will do what they do when they feel like it in whatever way they feel like it no matter how many people they step on on the way to their ultimate goal of making the most money they can.

Perhaps my impressions of these two companies are skewed by my limited and relatively rare experience with them but that's been my experience. That's all I have to go on.

With a true merchant account...the money goes straight into your bank account. You are in control of your own money not the merchant account company. And the money is available to you right away. Not just that but they are subject to laws that regulate the financial services industry in a way that PayPal is not subject to.

I just haven't gotten around to getting a merchant account yet but will do so shortly.

Carlos

[LisaWood]

Hi Carlos -

You've gotten some good feedback here, so I'm just going to add my little bit. Keep in mind that these are my opinions, and it's YOUR business, so take it with a grain of salt.

I don't think your design is too flashy, but I have an aversion to site designs that aren't centered. All that empty space on the right just bugs me. Just my preference, but I think it looks more finished if you center it.

Your about me is (IMO) a little too personal. I tell my clients that their about page is "a soft sell with a personal touch". It gives your visitors an inside look to who you are and helps them understand why they should hire you. They don't want (or need) to know your life story.

Copyright issues - is that page even necessary? Maybe a tiny bit of that could be part of an FAQ page, and the rest of the info you could go over in person with a client?

Special page - wow, what a deal! Just don't sell yourself short - once you get something in your portfolio consider bumping that rate up to your full $25 (or higher) right away!

The PS - I completely respect Christian (and other) values - but I would be hesitant to put that much info on a sell-page, which is what every page on your website is. You can put a disclaimer that you won't work on pornographic/unethical/or other types of sites, without giving any specific reason. I say that simply because it's a strong and controversial topic, and some people ARE turned off by that, and you risk turning away perfectly legitimate customers simply because they don't agree with your values. Again, I'd save that info for a one-on-one conversation if/when the issue arises.

Payment page - wordy, but you get your point across. Still, I would condense it.

I'm curious why you talk so much about your competition on your home page. I see your point, but I think the presentation is a turn-off. Maybe instead, make your home page an inviting presentation, and link to an article about the differences between those types of designers. Just an idea.

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh. I can relate to the challenges of starting a business and establishing yourself. My toughest client is me

Bottom line - if you want to be regarded as a professional, you have to present yourself as such. Remember also that when someone is hiring you they don't really care about YOU - they care about what you can do for THEM.

I hope that helped a bit

[carlos123]

Hi Lisa,

Wow!

What can I say? Great input...again!

I especially think the way you suggested I get across the point about not wanting to work on unethical web sites without neccessarily mention I am a Christian is a very valid point. Some people have stereotypes about Christians that might turn them completely off without even coming to know me such that they would realize eventually that I don't fit the stereotype.

But mentioning "Christian" right off the bat might uneccessarily turn them off.

A very valid point Lisa. I think I will implement that among other points I have received here.

It just dawned on me that the emptiness of the right hand side that others have mentioned may not have been what I thought. The completely left hand alignment of my site is just a testing phase. The final product will be entirely centered within the browser window. So that large area to the right that has nothing will no longer even be an issue. That is definitely something I would have needed to change if I did not already have that in mind .

Re...the about me page. Hmm...I'll have to think about that some Lisa. I know being personal goes against the grain of what is considered acceptable business practice but ironically it has been my experience that being personal and real with clients or prospective clients has allowed me to distinguish myself from the run of the mill "business" appearance of others that causes them to disappear into the background.

Even today incredibly enough...before my web site is even finished...a company is offering me full time employment as a computer programmer working with Apache based on even more personal emails I sent the owner of the business. He had originally wanted a resume and I had told him flat out that I had no time to make one up. Recently when I saw him still trying to fill the position, a position that I was imminently qualified for, I wrote him again. In our subsequent communications I got even more personal and told him flat out that a nice resume proved nothing more than that a person could write...well...a nice resume among other things.

Now he wants to hire me full time working on a major, major project at a very good wage.

With no resume, no local phone service (I get all calls that come in going to my toll free number and respond through Skype), no car, and otherwise not the kind of person, on paper at least, that one would take a second glance at.

But my being personal has once again seemingly won the day where I kept coming back to him with what were reasonable points made in a very personal last ditch effort to see if we might not be able to work out a win/win between the two of us.

Incredible! Reminds of how in the old days someone could walk in and be judged as a potential employee based on their cahones to come in and almost demand a job not taking no for an answer. Where employers judge one on their ability to judge character more than on how impressive a piece of paper one can produce.

Anyway...that's been my experience Lisa. That being personal as I am actually sets me apart, way apart, from the competition, and actually lands me more work!

So I don't know if I want to tone that down too much at least not to the point that I end up looking like just another bland web developer lacking in passion and...well...personableness.

Now look what I've done! Gone and written another book!

What can I say...I like to write and express myself. Hopefully I didn't lose you on the second paragraph LOL.

Thanks again for your input!

Carlos